The present invention relates to a sealing device for a rolling contact bearing.
In particular, the present invention relates to a sealing device for a rolling contact bearing which comprises an annular sealing lining which is mounted onto a fixed race of the rolling contact bearing, a protective shield for the lining which is mounted onto a rotating race of the rolling contact bearing, and an encoder which is integral to the shield and which is positioned between the lining and the shield itself.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,568 relates to a sealing device of the kind described above, in which the shield is made of non-magnetic material in order to permit the encoder to be magnetised on the outer side of the rolling contact bearing, and presenting an overall thickness which is quite considerable in order to guarantee a sufficiently rigid support for the encoder, not only when it is in use but also during the operations which are necessary to assemble the device itself.
Despite all the precautions taken during the assembly of the shield which has just been described above, the device referred to the in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,568 does, however, present some disadvantages which are typical of the kind of assembly necessary, during which the magnetisation of the encoder is carried out by means of a layer of material which is extraneous to the encoder itself and which is, in fact, represented by the support shield.
The aim of the present invention is to produce a sealing device for a rolling contact bearing, which will permit an optimal magnetisation of the encoder without compromising the protection of the encoder itself in any way at all, either during transport or when the device is mounted onto the relevant rolling contact bearing.
According to the present invention, a sealing device for a rolling contact bearing will be produced presenting a fixed race and a rotating race, the device comprising an annular sealing lining which is mounted onto the fixed race, a protective shield for the lining which is mounted onto the rotating race on the outside of the lining itself, and an encoder which is integral to the shield; the device being characterised by the fact that the encoder is axially arranged on the outside of the shield and is protected by a covering element, which is part of the device itself, and which is arranged opposite the screen in relation to the encoder.